New PS Audio Soloist SE's

[hkval]

Originally Posted by jdandy

David.......The Soloist Premier SE is not just a surge protector. You need to understand that surge protection is a secondary performance feature of the Soloist Premier SE, and only performs that task when a spike is present on your circuit. It is the balanced power coupler, the balun that is filtering common and differential mode noise from the AC line continuously that is the primary feature. This filter is not the last word on noise reduction of the AC line, but is effective within its designed parameters. When the Soloist Premier SE is used in conjuction with a Power Plant Premier the noise reduction is cumulative.

Obviously, the Power Plant Premier is a far more complex piece of power distribution equipment, capable of completely regenerating the AC sine wave, reducing total harmonic distortion on the AC line output to almost infinitesimally low levels, and regulating the new pure sine wave output voltage irrespective of the input line voltage level. This is a notable achievement. The added benefit of placing a Soloist Premier SE before the PPP is to essentially help reduce the work load of the PPP by removing some of the grunge on the AC line in advance.

I want to remind you once again, everything you hear coming out of your loudspeakers begins as an AC sine wave coming out of your home's wall receptacle. There is nothing esoteric or magical about what happens as the AC is used in our preamps, amps, sources, and speakers, but one thing has been proven, noise reduction on the AC line is audible, and measurable. The cleaner and more stable the AC power is to your equipment, the cleaner and more pure your sonic presentation will be. This improvement can be heard, particularly to the enthusiast who pays close attention to their sound system's performance.

Thanks Dan for the technological clarity of why I and others are hearing what is quite noticable. Most of us know our systems and each CD intimately and our sound memory is reinforced because of how carefully and attentively we listen. I had been monitoring my outlets very carefully the past few weeks since my purchase of the Kill A Watt. This includes paying close attention to the PPP's Input and Output displays for THD's and Voltage. The output voltage reads 120 more consistently on the Kill A Watt and the PPP meters and the THD's are even lower than before. Some might say that Florida Power and Light improved their power grids coincidentally with my installation of the 2 Soloists but I tend to credit the PS Audio product.

[Omerta]

well.... 12 hours later I do hear differences. The female voices are less congested but have some bite to therm, still not there yet. The staging is moving back and rising. The bass is tightening but still not there yet. These are all characters that are burned into my mind with very familiar tracks that I am playing. I know my system well and these are things I listen for while comparing my system to others. The immediate change was for the worst but it is changing and it is not like I am getting used to the new sound, I am focusing on specific tonal changes. This is one of those arguments that always ends with we agree to disagree.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Rilands

All you guys are great. And I really don't want to stir the pot, but I have to agree with David on this one. I think some of us(me included), convince ourselves that an improvement was made, because we replace something with something else that costs more money. I replaced my outlets recently too. Did I hear an improvement? My mind tells me I did, but i doubt it....My system sounded pretty damn good before I did it. I know my plugs stayed in tighter.
Sorry guys........

Mike.......One only needs to look at your signature to see why your system is sounding "pretty damn good." You have premium gear including, I might add, a Power Plant Premier. At the level you are presently enjoying reproduced music, advances in reproduction don't come in leaps and bounds, they arrive in increments, often small, as we pay closer attention to all of the essentials. I think sometimes we expect tweaks to jump out at us paying huge sonic dividends. That would be wonderful if it were true, but in fact it is the composite of all the tweaks, big and little, that create the results we ultimately appreciate as we listen to and enjoy our systems. As we grow accustomed to our fine audio gear we forget just how good we really have it. The high-end audio sound we listen to each day becomes the norm, so when a new tweak comes along that peaks our interest enough to purchase and install it, we have high hopes for a great bounding forward in performance. We want more. It is human nature. In this light it is easy to fall short of fully absorbing an improvement just rendered to us with the latest addition. I believe the greatest realization of what is being delivered by the sum total of our systems would come if we began removing things one item at a time. I don't think we would get very far at all before our ears would begin to tell us we were headed in the wrong direction.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by hkval

Yes, she says it is "Selective", but she decides on the "Selection".

Howard.......That's a great smoke screen. As long as we continue to promote that belief, OUR selective hearing can remain undeterred.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Dan, you forgot one other thing the Soloist SE can do...

They can fly; I had 60 of them one day, and the next thing I knew they were all gone!

Ivan.......It is apparent from those sales numbers, especially in such a short period of time, that many members fully understand the value the Soloist Premier SE represents, and want that advantage in their power distribution scheme for the increased audio performance it provides, plus the added surge protection. I have four of them installed, and feel comfortable knowing they are performing their designed tasks.

[Masterlu]

Agreed, I love those SE's I use them all over my house.

[jdandy]

Here is a look inside the PS Audio Soloist Premier SE.








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Here is a look at a noise spectrum analysis of the power at an AC outlet, and then a noise spectrum analysis with the Soloist Premier SE on the same circuit. Notice the reduced noise on the AC line across the board.


FFT plot of common mode noise from regular receptacle.



FFT plot of common mode noise from Soloist Premier.


Photos from DarqueKnight at Club Polk

You can read DarqueKnight - Studies On Residential Power Line Noise - Part 6: PS Audio Soloist Special Edition here: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79010

[Masterlu]

Great pics & info; thanks Dan.

[jdandy]

The PS Audio Soloist Premier SE also includes the Power Port Premier outlet, and sold independent of the Soloist Premier for $99.00. No doubt you are saying to yourself, wow $99.00 for one receptacle? Before jumping to conclusions think about this. The materials, assembly techniques, gripping power, and ability to deliver current with low resistance is far superior to any standard grade receptacle. The Power Port Premier’s contacts are cast from the highest purity non-ferrous material available, pure OFC copper and beryllium to maintain excellent grip, not the low copper, high zinc material typical on a standard outlet. By keeping the pure copper content as high as possible, the base materials found in a Power Port Premier are the finest made. Then, the cast OFC beryllium contacts of the Power Port Premier are plated with pure gold through an electroless process. Electroless gold plated deposits are superior to the more common electrolytic plating that produces uneven thickness variations. Electroless gold plated deposits are uniform in thickness around corners, on both sides of a part, even on the inside walls of small holes. This is just one aspect of why the Power Port Premier has been engineered to be the finest possible product made today. Once the electroless gold plating has been added to the OFC byrillium connectors, each Power Port Premier goes through a final step before insertion into the body of the receptacle. Each contact is hand polished to improve the surface smoothness and hence an increase in surface area and better conductivity.

Added to the already amazing build quality of this Power Port Premier receptacle, the body of the Power Port Premier is cast out of a state-of-the art dielectric material known as PBT (Polybutylene Terephthalate) rather than the standard plastic or Nylon. PBT is a semi-crystalline material that has one of the best dielectric characteristics for moldable material and is superior to even the standard Power Port’s glass filled high temperature nylon material.

When you consider the total of the design, parts, specialized materials, and quality assembly, the PS Audio Soloist Premier SE is quite a value. There has been some serious attention paid to creating a high-end product for the audio enthusiast that adds several valuable benefits in helping achieve the superb audio performance we strive to reproduce in our homes. The PS Audio Soloist Premier SE is an essential component to premium quality power distrubution for a high-end audio system, in my humble opinion.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by 1KW

I can understand " break in" where electronics are concerned to a certain extent. I am not bashing the soloist SE, I can understand the value in surge protection built in to the outlet. If you are using a Soloist with a PPP how do you explain being able to hear a audible difference since the PPP regenerates the AC ?

David.......Did I answer your question? Did you find any additional useful information with respect to what the Soloist Premier SE does, and why it would be an improvement to a high-end sound system?